Catching up...

Ok, So, in the past 5 years that I have not written anything for the DutchMonki blog I have not forgotten about my quest for information, stories, and more on my families Dutch heritage. First of all, we had enrolled my son in the Seattle area's Dutch school for class on Saturdays, This started at the same time he started pre-school... or was that the year he started Kindergarten? ...Either way, he LOVED it that first year. He was totally immersed in the language, found a really good friend in class and was doing pretty typical things (per his personality). Then came the time to advance him to the next grade. He was right on the edge of passing or holding him back. They ultimately decided to hold him back. The next year was a bit rough for him. He was MUCH taller than all his new classmates and he was so bored with all the repeat work (stuff he'd done the previous year) that he seemed to just "turn off". Teachers saw it as he wasn't understanding anything and attributed it to us not being native Dutch speakers. Though we practiced our Dutch speaking skills at home as a family and I believe he could understand everything because he responded fine at home --But then at school, they probably spoke faster and with more ease (naturally) so maybe it was harder for him to follow what was being said. I don't know. Halfway through that second year, with his good friend in the class above him and their recesses separated, he had a few instances of getting picked on by some other kids and getting very upset about it. These instances were very hard for all of us to spot and recognize and I wonder if it was just that the other kids were trying to play with him and he was being his normal "shy-boy" self and then they would get frustrated with him... Either way, it wasn't fun for him anymore so we pulled him out toward the end of the year. The good friend he gained in the first year we still get together with occasionally and we are thankful for their friendship -even if my son refuses to speak Dutch with her! Maybe some day he'll want to speak it again. Overall, our experience at the Dutch school was a positive one and we are glad that we gave it a try.
Aside from the Dutch school, we have attended other Dutch events like the Sinterklaas events, Koninginnedag, then Koningsdag, a couple Dutch bike rides and a couple Dutch movie nights* put on by the Hansje Brinker Guild (*another movie night is coming up this coming week!). We also try to keep up with anything going on through Dutch Seattle.
As time goes by, it gets harder to keep up. Our son is more active and we have a busy household with projects of all kinds waiting for our attention. --And THAT is why I have not kept up with this blog! However, I believe I will be adding posts more regularly again. At least that is my hope :-) ...I'll try for one post a month (but maybe it will be more!).

Books

I see that I have neglected my Dutch blog for a VERY long time. This post (below) was written in 2011! I'll be going through some more Dutch things and writing about these past years between now and then (when I abandoned my dutch blog). I decided to just post this how I left it, So here you go...

Sky A true story of Resistance During WWII by Hanneke Ippisch.  This is a wonderfully written memoir that was very hard to put down. Resistance workers did many brave things during the war.

Amsterdam: Made by Hand by Pia Jane Bijkerk gives great ideas of shops and cafes to visit while in Amsterdam. The author aranged them into numbered "wanders" which I love. If you follow a certain "wander" you will find the featured shops (and more) all in that area or street.

The Great Tulip Trade by Beth Wagner Brust, illustrated by Jenny Mattheson is a children's book about the tulip mania in Dutch history. It was greatly enjoyed by myself and my son (so much so that I had to renew it two times from the library).

Blueberries for the Queen by Katherine and John Paterson, illustrated by Susan Jeffers. This book was also repeatedly renewed from the library by request of my son. I loved the illustrations and the story is so sweet and based on truth!

Dutch Poetry in Translation: Kaleidoscope from Medieval Times to the Present with Parallel Dutch Text Translated by Martijn Zwart together with Ethel Grene. I liked how this book had the Dutch poem first and then the translation. It was fun to read through the Dutch and then see if I had translated it the right way in my head (I'm still learning Dutch). Very nice selection of poems.